The U.S. Navy Is Considering Arming Its Zumwalt Class Destroyers With Conventional Missiles

The USS Zumwalt (U.S. Navy)

FOX News/Warrior Maven: Navy may arm new destroyer with conventional missile able to hit anywhere on Earth in an hour

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy’s newest destroyer may fire a not-yet-to-be fielded Conventional Prompt Strike conventionally-armed missile engineered to hit anywhere on earth within an hour, service program managers said. The weapon, now being considered by Navy weapons developers for the emerging USS Zumwalt, will bring new attack options to the stealthy destroyer being prepared for combat as soon as 2021, Capt. Kevin Smith, Zumwalt-class destroyer Program Manager said Jan. 15 at the Surface Naval Association Annual Symposium.

“This would be the perfect platform for Conventional Prompt Strike,” Smith said.

The Conventional Prompt Strike weapons program, which emerged [in] the era of former President George W. Bush, is designed to arm a ballistic missile with a conventional warhead, bringing the range and speed similar to a nuclear weapon to conventional strike.

The weapon has virtually unprecedented range for a conventional weapon and has the ability to hit anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes in some instances.

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WNU Editor: The problem with firing such a missile is that countries like Russia and China will not know if this "ballistic missile" is carrying a conventional warhead or a nuclear one.